


Hypnotized

by nishiki



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Budding Romance, Day 4, Fake Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Forced Relationship, Idiots in Love, Kliego Week 2020, Kliego Week 2020 Day 4, M/M, Soft Diego Hargreeves, conflicted Diego Hargreeves, conflicted feelings, kliego - Freeform, more or less
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27162641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nishiki/pseuds/nishiki
Summary: It had started innocently enough: with a lie on national television.-The one where Diego and Klaus Hasrgeeves are being forced to pretend they are in a romantic relationship.
Relationships: Allison & Ben & Diego & Number Five | The Boy & Klaus & Luther & Vanya, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 20
Kudos: 141
Collections: Kliego Week 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a one-shot but since it would have gotten obscenely long, I split the story into 4 chapters to make it a little easier to read.

It had started innocently enough: with a lie on national television. To their credit, it wasn’t like Klaus or Diego actually had _wanted_ to spread that lie. They hadn't really been given a choice in the matter. It had been Allison’s idea to get in touch with a PR agency to clean up the Umbrella Academy’s image after the non-apocalypse, after all. So, if anyone was to blame, it should be her. 

After their father’s death, tabloids had started to dig up the skeletons in their respective closets mercilessly. And, of course, after Allison’s custody battle and dirty divorce had lost its novelty, Klaus had been the next best target. They had not needed to dig very deep because Klaus’ past sins were presenting themselves to the general public on a silver platter after numerous arrests and stints at various rehabilitation facilities over the course of the past thirteen years. 

For weeks, television shows and boulevard magazines had told the story of Number Four who fell off the wagon, who had been in prison, who had a criminal record as long as the empire state building was high, who had sold himself for drugs, who had stolen, cheated, and lied for almost two decades. A clean-up of their public image was, in other words, direly needed to gain funding for the academy and its upkeep. Money shouldn’t really be a problem, of course. They were the adopted children of the world’s most famous billionaire, after all! But that idea, that they would never need to worry about money again, had quickly been diminished by Pogo’s stern voice reminding them all about the condition in Reginald’s last will that stated that they would get their inheritance money no sooner than one year after Sir Reginald’s passing and only if the Umbrella Academy would still be together at that point. The reasons for that were obvious. 

Reginald had wanted to reunite the Umbrella Academy with his death and it had been his intention to make them stay together. So, if they wanted their money, they were forced to stay at the house, stay together, be a team. Even in death, it seemed, the old bastard was still able to force his will upon them.

That was, finally, what made them band back together and go on TV shows and give interviews like in the good old days. In the end, it hadn't been Reggie’s suicide or the end of the world getting the kids back together and the Umbrella Academy back to fighting crime - it had been the need for money.

What they didn't expect was, however, that their PR manager Paul would come to them during breakfast one fateful morning and tell Klaus and Diego in front of everyone that they were expected to pretend to be a couple.

“What?” Diego barked around a mouth full of scrambled eggs, nearly spitting them all over the table and at his sister Vanya’s face as he did, while Klaus was choking on a green smoothie that Diego had made for him.

“The internet!” Paul exclaimed and made a broad gesture with his hands as if that would explain anything while the rest of the Hargreeves family was just staring at him dumbfounded. Vanya was still holding her spoon inches in front of her wide-open mouth, Allison had apparently forgotten that she wanted to pour herself some coffee, Luther sat there with an unchewed bit of toast between his lips, and Five had forgotten his newspaper. 

“There are rumors!” He added with a roll of his eyes as he noticed the general confusion inside the kitchen. “About you two dating each other. Apparently, people find it cute how you are always together in interviews and being all lovey-dovey.”

“We are not lovey-dovey!” Diego argued back without batting an eye or taking a second to contemplate his answer. He felt heat rising in his cheeks at the insinuation. 

“Yeah, you kind of are,” Five groaned and returned his gaze to the papers. “But it's always been like this so we probably just don’t see it anymore - unlike the rest of the world.”

“Anyway,” Paul cut in. Before meeting the guy, Diego Hargreeves wouldn't have thought that it was possible for a more impatient person than Five to exist. “don't you realize the importance of that?”

“No?” Klaus asked weakly and Diego noticed how his brother very decidedly did not look at him. Usually, they were always seeking each other out in weird situations like these. He remembered looking at Klaus during Five’s little temper tantrum seventeen years ago on the day he vanished. He was always the first Diego would look at and vice versa. 

“This, my friends, could be the _goldmine_ we have been waiting for. A love story between superheroes. Not only that but a _gay love story_. Have you any idea how much money that will bring? It's trendy to be gay these days.” Klaus glared at him but Paul was blind to the offense Klaus took to that. “A redemption story! Oh, the tragedy! Star-crossed lovers! Fated to be together yet ripped apart by drug addiction and an uncaring society - reunited at last and now on the path to a better tomorrow, _together_. The people will eat it right up. Think _‘Pretty Woman'_! Think _‘Moulin Rouge’_! According to my analytics, people on the internet are really digging this theory.”

That was how, about a week after Paul had first given them the news, Klaus and Diego Hargreeves ended up lying on national television about their relationship. The crowd, just as Paul had predicted, ate it right up. The general public seemed fascinated by the idea of Number Four and Number Two dating. Maybe it had been a little naive of them to think that it would be over after that appearance on TV and that initial lie. Of course, it only got worse after that. More and more, the duo was invited without the rest of their family and while Klaus maneuvered through those interviews and appearances like a pro, Diego just wanted to die a little every time. It worked in his favor, though as it added to his quiet and brooding demeanor that the public seemed to like so much.

In his defense, Diego had thought that it would be over with just like that. They would be on that show, be asked if they were dating, they would say yes, Klaus would be a bit flirty - which was nothing out of the ordinary anyway - and then they wouldn't need to bother with that lie anymore. Had it been naive of him to actually believe that it would be so easy? Yes. Absolutely. Was he still shocked and surprised when Paul came to them one morning and informed the whole family that he had made a deal with a lifestyle magazine to film a documentary about their daily life as superheroes? Abso-fucking-lutely.

“Come on,” Klaus sighed a few days after Paul broke the news to them. He still hadn’t quite lost the playfulness to his voice despite it all. Klaus probably still thought that this was all a big joke. “It's not so bad. I mean look at the bright side, Dee, we finally will be sleeping in a proper bed! We should actually all go furniture shopping. Why haven't we upgraded our bedrooms yet anyway?”

They were currently tidying up the bedroom that Paul had decided they would show in the documentary. Paul had even gone as far as to hire an interior designer to put together a bedroom for them to make the lie that they were a couple more believable. It would raise eyebrows if they wouldn’t share a room. 

“You know,” Diego hummed as he put his jacket in their new shared closet. A shared closet. How weird. That was exactly the type of relationship that he had wanted with Eudora back in the day. A shared bedroom, a shared closet, arguing about the limited space they had. “I would say you enjoy this if I wouldn't know any better.”

“I don't,” Klaus' eyes betrayed him as Diego looked at him. “But … it's a bit funny. I’m sorry people think you’re gay now, though.”

Klaus’ words left a sour taste in his mouth. “I’m just pissed that people think I’m shagging my baby brother,” Diego replied with a low growl. “I don't care if they think I’m gay or not. You should know that I’m not bothered by stuff like this. It's just … Patch and I … we were on the mend, you know? She actually talked to me without threatening arrest!”

“Wow, she should slow down a bit!” Klaus laughed. “She sounds really smitten!”

“You know what I mean … And now she looks at me like … like …”

“Like you are a snail.”

“You are awful.”

“That's why you are dating me.”

“How are we even gonna pull this off? I mean … lying to the press is one thing but acting like we are a couple for this documentary?”

“Just follow my lead, Baby. I’m a great actor.” Klaus threw a pillow at his face and Diego barely caught it before throwing it back.

“You are a terrible actor.”

**-End of Chapter 1-**


	2. Chapter 2

The day the camera crew arrived, Diego felt like he just wanted to curl up and die somewhere where it was dark and save for him to just wither away. It was like he had told Klaus. His troubles with the situation didn't lie in the fact that people would think he was gay. He couldn't care less about that. 

It didn't even really bother him that people thought he was having a sexual relationship with his adopted brother because they didn't break any laws and didn't do anything that was morally corrupt either - after all, they hadn't exactly been raised as siblings. They couldn't be compared to any other family with adopted siblings either. 

The thing with Patch too was just one reason as to why he was a bit uncomfortable with this whole thing. Last time he had met her, she had smiled at him and treated him like she would treat Beaman or any other guy that was of no interest to her. In a way, their meetings had become a bit more pleasant since. No … The real reason why Diego was just that bit more uncomfortable with pretending to be lovers was the memories it brought back up. Memories of his teenage years in this cold, dark house where his only comfort had been a robot … and Klaus. 

Klaus who had been his best friend right from the start. Klaus whom he had gravitated towards since they were toddlers. Klaus who had always come crawling into his bed at night when he had suffered from nightmares and the ghosts that were always around him. And he too had sought comfort in his adopted brother, his best friend. Every time he had dreamed of being locked in a cage underwater, every time he had come back from special training, he had been a wreck. His father had never really grasped what this training was doing to his psyche. It went so far that Diego, to this day, hated it to dive underwater - which was just something he couldn't really avoid thanks to his powers. He sometimes still woke up from a nightmare in which he had been locked underneath the water surface, panicking at the thought that, if he would just let out a gasp, he would be dead. 

And yes, maybe, when he was fifteen, he did have a crush on Klaus. Of course, Number Four could never know this. To Klaus, this was all just one big joke, nothing he would ever even consider taking seriously. Why would he? But to Diego, it brought back the memories of a time when Klaus had only needed to enter a room for his heart rate to go berserk. He remembered the sweaty hands he always got back then, the way his tongue would twist and refuse to cooperate - making his stutter only worse in return. There had been a time when he had been sure that Klaus had known about his crush but if he had, Klaus had never said anything and Diego had done everything in his power to squash that feeling, afraid and, frankly, disgusted by his own thoughts. 

It had taken him years to understand that his thoughts hadn't been gross and unnatural. But he had still blamed the environment he had grown up in for those thoughts and feelings towards his adopted brother. And now that he was actually supposed to pretend like he was in love with Klaus … it was a bit much for him. At least he had Klaus with him on this wild ride. Klaus, who took his hand when they were in front of cameras. Klaus, who would kiss him on the cheek or just on the side of his mouth whenever there were outsiders watching them. Klaus, who had no clue what this was doing to Diego.

“Today is the big day, Tiger.” Klaus yawned as they were sitting at the kitchen table. Diego had cooked breakfast for his family even though not everyone was up yet. It was just something to busy his hands and mind. He couldn't help but feel nervous - yes, maybe even terrified. Just knowing that his every move would get filmed by strangers and judged by the whole world. It was terrifying and he knew that he would stumble over his words, that he would make a fool out of himself. “Ready to bullshit the entire world?”

“When am I not?” Diego huffed. None of his family members were necessarily happy about that documentary and yet here they were. Allison was still dressed in her fluffy white robe and looking as if she wanted to kill someone with a spoon as she was digging into the pancakes Diego had made for the rest of the family. “I mean … what do they think we are doing the entire fucking day? It's not like we are different than normal people.” 

“Except for our superpowers,” Luther murmured around a mouthful of pancakes. “This is going to be the most boring documentary ever. It's not like we are using our powers the entire day anyway...”

“Serves Paul right,” Klaus huffed just as the doorbell rang. “That's probably him.” A deep sigh tore from his lips as he slowly got up from his chair. It was barely eight AM and the few members of their family who were up already were still dressed in their sleepwear. Even Diego was still only wearing his sweatpants as he was taking care of feeding his siblings.

He watched how Klaus wobbled out of the kitchen as the doorbell rang a second time. Five would be quicker, of course, but Five was not here yet. For a few moments, nothing happened but then all hell seemed to break loose. People were swarming the kitchen - the entire house seemingly. People with cameras and all kinds of equipment.

In their midst, was Paul, grinning from one ear to the other. “Surprise!” He grinned. “I thought it was more authentic if you would be surprised by the start of the filming.”

“We didn't fucking agree to that!” Diego all but exploded and immediately there was a camera in his face. 

“Language, Diego!” Paul had the audacity to say. 

“You are fucking lucky I don't have a fucking knife in my hand right now.” Right then, Klaus appeared back in the kitchen. He looked a bit pale and Diego could only imagine that he had been overrun by those fucking people like a herd of stampeding bulls. The siblings could only watch in horror how the leader of that camera crew gave instructions to his team where to set up cameras. Only as they heard that there would be cameras in their bedrooms, Allison chimed in again. 

“Hey! What? No! Absolutely not!”

“It's in the contract!” The person in charge, a young woman with mouse-brown hair and a nose ring, sing-sang, and Paul nodded with that same shit-eating grin. And that was that. Of course, deep down, Diego was aware that they could easily get rid of those people and go on like nothing had happened but none of them seemed willing to do anything. After all, they had all agreed to go through with what Paul suggested at the start and now they couldn't go back anymore - not without digging a few graves in the backyard. They had agreed to this circus as a team and now they were committed to it.

Still, Diego felt like he couldn't breathe with all those cameras around as he tried to maneuver through his day like normal. It was noon when Paul called Klaus and him into the kitchen to sit down and have a stern talk with them - almost like they were disobedient little boys and Paul their overly stern father.

“Klaus, Diego - we need to talk about your performance so far.”

“Our … what?” Diego asked, his brows raised in confusion and as he looked at Klaus next to him, Number Four seemed to share his confusion. He briefly noticed that Klaus was wearing one of his t-shirts and ignored the flutter in his chest at the sight.

“You can't continue like this.”

“Like what?” Klaus echoed.

“Doing your own things - _separately_. The people want to see you be a couple!”

“And … we can't do our own things and still be a couple?” If it would be possible to raise his brows even higher, Diego would have. By now his face hurt from the movement.

“No.” Paul groaned. “For example: Diego, you are about to have your daily work-out routine, yes?”

“Yes?”

“Take Klaus with you and work out together.”

“But I don't … do _that,_ ” Klaus made a face as if Paul had suggested that they should do something so outlandishly perverse not even Klaus Hargreeves would participate in it. Well, Klaus had never been one for physical labor or working out like Luther and Diego did. “I do yoga.”

“From now on, you’ll work out with Diego. Diego, wouldn't it be romantic if you would show Klaus a few boxing moves? And Klaus wouldn't it be nice if you would teach Diego some yoga? You are no longer your own separate people. You are a couple and you have to show the world that you work well together as a couple. That's what the world wants to see.”

Diego was not too sure about what the world wanted to see as much as Paul seemingly was. Still, he was aware that he had to play along now. It was only a couple of days, after all. Only a couple of days and then they would be free to go back to normal - even if the whole world would think he was banging Klaus. So, in the end, Klaus was in the boxing ring with him at their gym downstairs. He looked miserable in his gym clothes and the boxing gloves that seemed way too big on him. 

“Is this really necessary?” Klaus groaned as he took position opposite of Diego inside the ring. If he was nervous about the camera, he wasn’t showing it. Allison had been tasked with giving the camera crew a tour of the house earlier and now they were being filmed individually. 

“Yes,” Diego replied. He tried to just focus on Klaus and ignore the camera. Just Klaus and his pretty face. “You need to learn how to defend yourself. I taught you that numerous times already.”

“I have you for that.”

“Yes,” It wasn’t even a lie and thus rolled easily off of his tongue. As far back as he could remember, he had always been there to defend and protect Klaus. “And I would feel better if I knew that you would know how to take care of yourself.” 

As long as he would just focus on Klaus and on teaching him how to defend himself, Diego thought, he was on save territory. He had been here before, after all - teaching Klaus some move to defend himself. He just needed to ignore the people around him - and Klaus made it easy as he made quips and laughed at his expense when he would dodge an attack skillfully. After all, they had all gone through the same combat training. Sometimes when looking at Klaus, it was just so easy to forget.

On the other hand, however, Klaus later proved to be a very patient teacher as he later tried to teach Diego some yoga moves. Diego, it turned out, was much more clumsy than Klaus was. He had never been one to move gracefully. He moved quickly and precisely like a snake but never _gracefully_ or, god-forbid, slowly. Klaus, on the other hand … he had always had a certain grace to his movements even though sometimes it seemed that he was all flailing limbs and awkward gestures. The film crew picked up on that too, apparently.

“Did you use to be a dancer?” One of the men asked Klaus directly as they were rolling up their mats and putting them away in a closet. Luther was very insistent on the gym being tidy and he would go all berserk on them if he would see that they had left stuff lying around.

“We all learned to dance when we were younger” Klaus shrugged in response and made a vague gesture with his hand - as if it was normal for young boys to learn how to dance. “Ballroom dances - and ballet, actually.”

“Really?” Kate, the producer perked up with glowing eyes and took a step closer towards them. The plan she had been going over with her assistant was apparently forgotten for now. 

“Yeah,” Diego replied quietly. He couldn't help but feel a little ashamed to discuss this. Not that there was anything wrong with knowing how to dance. It was just that he was unsure whether or not he wanted the whole world to know that he knew ballet. “Our father insisted on having us taught to dance so that we wouldn't embarrass him during formal events. Also, ballet is useful for a fighter to know as well. Ballance and discipline and all that shit. But Klaus really was the best of us when it came to ballet.”

“Diego was the best at ballroom dancing, though,” Klaus mocked with a grin and a wink. “He was the only guy I ever allowed to lead me.”

“Aww, that is so cute!” Kate cooed. “Listen, would you be free for a couples’ interview right now?”

“Well, actually-”

“Come on, Tiger, of course, we have time for a couples interview.”

“Awesome!” Kate grinned. “Ten minutes - living room!”

The camera crew moved out of the gym to follow Kate leaving behind Diego and Klaus. “What the hell, Klaus?” Diego groaned.

“We have to play along,” Klaus sighed in response. “Like, come on, we have been through this before. Better get it over with, right? Listen, I don't like that either but it's only a matter of time until the public loses interest in us. Until then we only have to play along for a little while.”

“Yeah, but they probably expect us to … act like a proper couple … like-”

“They expect us to kiss and make out? I guess a few kisses on the mouth will be enough to satisfy them. They won’t expect us to outright fuck in front of them, so calm down. Maybe be a little more cuddly.”

“Cuddly?”

“Yes,” Klaus rolled his eyes. “Like, hug me, put your arm around me, and shit like this. You know how to be cuddly and behave like a proper boyfriend, don't you? You’ve had a girlfriend before!”

“Fine,” Diego sighed. “Fine, you win. Let's get changed and then right back to playing circus clowns.”

“Give me a kiss?” Klaus grinned and Diego gave in with a groan and kissed his temple. 

Exactly ten minutes later they were sitting in the living room, dressed in their normal clothes and Diego had his arm around Klaus just like his brother had asked him to do. Kate, the producer, sat opposite of them on a chair but out of sight of the camera. In a different world, Diego thought, maybe this would not be all just an act for the cameras. He couldn't deny how good it felt to have Klaus in his arms like this, how perfectly they seemed to fit together. Fuck. Good thing no one in this family was a mind-reader.

“So how did you two end up together?” Kate asked and tried to make her question sound casual as if they were old friends just talking - as if she hadn't written down all those questions in the notebook that she was holding on her lap. “I can only assume that it hasn’t been easy to … well, to acknowledge these kinds of feelings or admit to them in a ‘situation’ like yours.”

“With ‘a situation like yours’ you mean being adopted siblings?” Klaus chuckled, unfazed by the question. “Well, easy. I always had a bit of a crush on Diego here. This dark brooding demeanor just did it for me, you know? I mean, what can I say? I’m just a man, after all. And all that leather he always wears - uh! How couldn’t I have fallen for that? I always had a thing for bad boys. If you ask my sisters, they will confirm that I planned on marrying Diego ‘when I grow up’.” 

He couldn't help but look at Klaus with surprise. Well, Klaus had always been a great bullshitter. He was a junkie, after all. It didn't sound like bullshit, though and Diego liked to think that he by now knew when Klaus was lying. Maybe he didn't know after all judging by how Klaus nuzzled his nose against his neck at that. 

“It was inevitable,” Diego shrugged as a way of response as Kate’s attention fell on him. He felt very much put on the spot and wrung his brain trying to find a suitable answer without giving away too much. “I mean … it just happened when we all got back together after Dad’s funeral.”

“So, it's only been a couple of months since you got together?” Kate asked with a friendly smile. 

“Yeah,” Klaus huffed. “Three months.”

“Aren't you afraid that, if you were to break up, it would have a bad effect on the rest of the team and the family as a whole?”

“You don't just jump into a relationship like this,” Klaus shrugged and Diego was surprised how serious he sounded all of a sudden. “We didn't just randomly decide to start a relationship. We thought about it, talked about it for a while until we risked the plunge. Because it's like you said: A break-up has the potential to tear this whole family apart. We are positive that this won’t happen, though.”

“In other words - do I hear wedding bells ringing in the future?”

“Only if I get to wear a tiara and if Diego carries me over the threshold.” Klaus winked and Diego felt his cheeks turn pink at the mental image. “But maybe we should slow down a bit before we talk about marriage. Give Diego a little more time to work for it. I am not easily convinced.”

“Right,” Kate said with an easy smile before glancing down on her notes. “So, Klaus, Diego - maybe it's time to talk about the elephant in the room now. People are curious about how Klaus’ past affects your relationship.”

“I need you to elaborate,” Diego replied and tried to stay calm even though his heart was suddenly racing. Klaus, however, got very quiet next to him and he instinctively tightened his arm around him. 

“Well, people wonder how you deal with knowing that Klaus did sex work for a couple of years,” Kate said as if she was talking about the weather instead. “I mean, it's no secret that Klaus had a very serious drug problem. How many overdoses has it been in the past decade? Ten? At least once a year?”

“Oh, it's been way more than ten!” Klaus muttered as he tried to be funny and added a dry laugh for good measure. He didn't sound like he was finding humor in the situation, though - and he couldn’t fool Diego either. He could see how his eyes became more guarded, his stare colder, the green of his eyes harder. 

“So, yeah … Diego, how do you as his loving boyfriend deal with Klaus’ past? Is there … jealousy involved when you think about it?”

Right now he just wanted to smash the cameras. He gritted his teeth at the question and took a deep breath to steady himself so that he wouldn’t stutter and give away how he truly felt about all of that. It had been him, after all, who so often had been called to the hospital, who so often cleaned Klaus’ wound and stayed with him for comfort. 

“Klaus' past is not for me to deal with.” He replied as calmly as he could. “I helped him whenever I could help him in the past thirteen years. I was there for him as much as I could but it is his life and his decisions and I cannot take that from him. I don't see him as lesser for what he did or as anything but a survivor. He didn't make the best decisions but who does? And no, I’m not jealous nor was I ever jealous because of his work. I was fucking _terrified_ for him because of the work he did. I never knew if I would get a call from the cops telling me he died. I never knew if he was okay out there. That was my only concern. Because before he was my boyfriend, he was my best friend. I always loved him and I will always love him.”

He realized a bit too late how Klaus stared at him but there was no way for him to backtrack now. Klaus, as always, was the first to regain his composure. His mind was working quickly, as did his mouth.

“I let you in on a secret, Karen.”

“Kate.”

“Diego is a big fucking softie.” He ignored her correction. “No matter what happened to me out there in the streets, no matter how bad it got, I knew that I could always call him even at 3 AM to ask him to come and pick me up in the bad part of town. And really, I did some messed up shit in the past - not gonna lie about it. There are many things I’m not proud of, you know, Karen?”

“Kate.”

“But I learn to live with my past each day at a time. I did what I had to, to survive because coming back home and asking Dad for help wasn’t an option - though I think the people don't really want to hear the truth about Sir Reginald Hargreeves and the way he messed us all up, huh?” A grin split Klaus’ face in half, a mirthless little thing. “One day, maybe, I will be able to live with the things I’ve done to survive. But I will never forgive myself for the things I’ve done to Diego in the past. I lied to him and stole from him more than anyone else. I guess I have the rest of my life to make up for it now - even if it means walking around in a sexy maid outfit.”

That actually startled a snort and very unsexy laugh out of Diego. The team, especially Kate, however, seemed a little confused by that turn of events. Before he really knew what was going on, Klaus had leaned in closer and stolen a quick kiss from his lips but the moment was over before he registered it.

“Are we done here?” Klaus turned back to Kate as if nothing had happened. “I think you’ve got what you wanted.”

**-End of Chapter 2-**


	3. Chapter 3

It was grueling. The process of filming this stupid documentary. The producer liked to set up scenes whenever she deemed it 'too boring' what they were doing throughout their days. It was not enough drama, not enough _superhero_ \- or not lovey-dovey and cute enough between Klaus and Diego. 

That was how, on day three of filming, Diego found himself having a picnic with 'the love of his life' in the yard and tried to make it look natural. Apparently, the groupies were of the steadfast belief that Diego was a big fat romantic kind of guy. The Prince Charming to Klaus’ Cinderella so to say, the knight in shining armor, the hero. Even though he wouldn't quite mind those titles under different circumstances, it left a bitter taste in his mouth now because he knew that some people were insinuating with them that he was too good for Klaus - or that Klaus needed someone like him in his life to not be such a fuck-up. 

It was quite clear how the general public looked at Klaus, after all. He was the fallen Hargreeves, the one who was a criminal. Some would even say that he was disgusting for the things he had done to survive in the past. Kate had made this clear enough throughout the filming process. It made him angry whenever people would speak about Klaus like this. He didn't know a braver or stronger person than Number Four. Not many would survive out there as long as he had. And the people didn't understand - would never understand - why he had fallen into addiction in the first place. They would never understand why his life on the streets had been better for Klaus than his life here in the academy. 

At least the film crew had put some effort into setting up that picnic 'scene' in the garden and it wasn't too uncomfortable having to rest his head in Klaus' lap either. Quite the opposite, actually. It was warm and cozy - not in the same way it had felt when he had sat with Eudora like this but … nice regardless. Klaus’ body was sharper than Eudora’s, his bones protruding more from his skin, no fat to spare - not that Eudora was fat or something. Of course not. She was a woman, though. Soft and curvy and Klaus wasn’t that at all. Not that he minded much. The only thing he did mind was that he was forced into such compromising positions with Klaus after spending so many years trying not to think of Number Four in this way. 

“Relax,” Klaus sighed and brushed his fingers lovingly through his hair, messing it up completely. Diego let out a groan because he knew that this only meant some stylist would shoot out at them soon and redo his hair for the hundredths time because Klaus couldn't keep his fingers to himself. “Just don't think about them, okay? It's just me and you having a nice romantic fucking picnic in the yard like we did thousands of times before because apparently, we are sappy bastards.”

“Guys!” Katie called over. “A bit more action, perhaps?”

“Like what?” Diego groaned. “Should we start making out or something? Isn’t this documentary supposed to be PG?” That startled a laugh from Klaus.

“Because you know,” Klaus added with a mischievous smile. “When we get going we won’t be able to stop ourselves and then it usually gets kinky. All that leather my dear Diego always wears … I would think that was a give-away of his preferences, Darling!” He jabbed him in the side and Klaus squealed with laughter. He had forgotten how much he loved that sound. It was a rare thing these days and it shouldn't be. 

“Just-” Katie sounded so frustrated with them already. “Feed each other or something! Have you guys never seen a romcom?” He watched Klaus picking up the grapes that rested on a plate on their picnic table. He plucked one off the stem and maneuvered it carefully to Diego’s lips. He just stared at Number Four in disbelief as Klaus grinned at him teasingly. 

“Don’t bite!” Klaus huffed and Diego just opened his mouth and allowed Klaus to drop the grape as if he was a fucking seal and Klaus his handler feeding him fish. 

“More sensual please!” Diego groaned again and was just about to go back inside and ignore Kate for the rest of this documentary as Klaus took over again. He rolled his eyes, shook out his shoulders as if he was getting ready for battle and Diego knew what was coming. If Kate wanted a show, she would get a show from Klaus. 

Before he knew it, Klaus was gone from underneath him and he fell flat on the blanket. He barely had time to sit up against the tree behind him before Klaus suddenly straddled his lap, his weight comfortable against Diego as their bodies were just inches apart. Then he felt the soft, cool press of another grape against his lips, Klaus’ eyes remaining locked with his own as if he was the only person in the universe. He gulped at the look Klaus gave him and slowly opened his mouth so that Klaus could gently push the grape through, his fingers brushing against Diego’s lips and before he could pull them back, Diego quickly took a hold of Klaus’ hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. He had all but forgotten Kate and the cameras as Klaus leaned down to capture his lips with his own. It was a show, he had to remind himself. A show. Just a show. None of this was real. Yet, his heart was beating out of his chest. 

It was automation that made him reach out for Klaus and bury his fingers in his soft hair as he pulled him in closer to deepen the kiss. He didn't even really think about what he was doing or to whom. It just felt right and good and he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to bother himself with the ins and outs, with the morality, with the conflicting feelings he had, with the fact that all of this was just for a fucking show. Klaus tasted sweet like the grapes he had been feeding Diego as his lips parted and made room for Diego’s tongue. 

“Cut!”

It was like being doused with ice water. Klaus didn't pull away immediately but he did, at last. Instead of looking at Diego, he turned his attention to Kate and the camera team, remaining seated on Diego’s lap as Diego’s hands dropped to his waist.

“Was this enough of a show for your documentary or should I give him a blowjob next?”

“No, sweetie, we have what we wanted!” Kate shouted back and gestured for her team to follow her back inside. 

“Well, that was something, wasn’t it?” Klaus huffed and clapped him on the chest. “Good work, Baby.”

He didn't really know what it was about this situation but something about the way Klaus spoke made him lose it. He all but shoved Klaus off of him before getting up. “Fuck you, Klaus!” He hissed at his brother. His heart was still racing. He could still taste Klaus on his lips. Panic was striking him. Cold, blinding panic. 

“What?” Klaus seemed honest to God confused as if he had no clue what he was doing to Diego. Well, perhaps he really had no idea what he was doing to him. Maybe he really had no fucking clue. “I just gave them what they wanted so that they would leave us alone already!”

“Did you ever fucking stop to consider how that would make me feel, though?” Diego shot back as he walked away from the blanket on the ground. “Fuck!” He exclaimed for good measure and, as he couldn't stand Klaus’ confused look any longer, he rushed back inside, hoping for their sake that he would not come across Paul or Kate any time soon.

※※※※※※※

It was already getting late and the camera team was packing up their shit. They had filmed everything they needed for now but a few stationary cameras remained throughout the building, like the one in Diego and Klaus’ fucking pretend-bedroom. Those creeps honestly wanted to film them during the night. Right now, Diego was trying to buy himself time to go upstairs and join Klaus. After what happened during the afternoon, they hadn't talked. Even during family dinner, they had just been sitting next to each other in silence.

He was sitting in the silent kitchen, his blunt nails digging into the markings of the old wooden table. The same old wooden table that had already been old when they were children having breakfast with mom downstairs - before Dad made such a show out of the mealtimes every day. It was a place of contemplation and quietude for him.

“Diego?” A familiar, melodic voice said. It wasn’t Mom, though. As he turned to look, he noticed how Allison walked in. She was already in a set of flannel pajamas, her hair all braided up and ready for bed. This was the softest he had ever seen his sister looking. Gone was her armor of expensive clothes and makeup. There she was, the same Allison Hargreeves who had once thrown a pancake at his head when they were four and having an argument over what topping was best. “What are you doing here? I thought you guys already went to bed.”

“Klaus did.”

“Ah,” She said as if he had just revealed the secrets of the universe to her. “Yeah, I thought something was off.”

“What?”

“You guys didn't talk during dinner - at all.”

“So?”

“You never do this. Not talking to each other.” She shrugged. “In some way, you are always talking to each other. So … what happened? Did you have a fight?”

He glared at her but as her gaze didn't waver, he leaned back with a sigh. “He kissed me … earlier. Like … a real kiss. Tongue and all.”

“Eww” She replied eloquently. “So?”

“So?” He parroted with newfound anger flaring up and then it seemed to click in her head because she breathed out ‘Oh’ and pulled out a chair to sit down with him.

“And … then you fought because … he doesn't _know_.”

“Yes.” And he hated it that Allison knew. She was probably the only person who did know. Call it female intuition. He remembered her telling him straight forward that he needed to tell Klaus of his crush when they were fifteen as if it wouldn't mean anything. Diego and Allison had never been close but he knew that he could trust his sister when it came to his feelings for Klaus. Even back then. He had known Allison wouldn't use it against him. Not after Diego had threatened to spill the beans on Luther and her to Reginald anyway.

“You should tell him.”

“What?”

“Well, how is he supposed to know that shit like this hurts you when he doesn't know that you loved him?”

“I can't just … go to him and tell him!” he wrung his hands, rung with his words, rung with his own mind. “I mean … what does it matter now anyway? It's in the past! We just have to survive the rest of this documentary and then everything can go back to normal. He doesn't have to know.”

“You are just making it worse for yourself - and for him.”

“Yeah, you have it easy,” He muttered. “You don't have anything to lose after all, right?”

“What do you have to lose, though?”

“My best friend, for starters?” He shot back. “The only person I can trust to tell everything to? The one person I love most in this family?”

She was silent at first but then she reached out and patted his back with a smile. “I think,” She said solemnly. “You just said it yourself the best. The only person you can trust to tell _everything_ to.” With that, she got up, walked over to the cookie jar, stole a couple, and walked right back out of this kitchen with a quiet ‘Goodnight, Diego’.

As he walked into the bedroom, Allison’s words were still rattling in his head like a Windows ‘98 screen saver. Maybe she was right and he could actually tell Klaus without his brother freaking out. It was a thing of the past, after all, right? If he would tell Klaus that he used to love him and that it would hurt him when Klaus would kiss him like he did earlier because of those old, unresolved feelings, surely Klaus would understand, right? He always understood what Diego was trying to say - sometimes even without him needing to voice it.

As he slipped into the room, he really hoped that Klaus was already asleep. One good thing about all of this was that Klaus could and would fall asleep anytime he could. Chances were good that he was asleep. The room was dark and he could only see Klaus’ body underneath the sheets in the middle of the bed. Typical. Even if he was asleep, Diego would be forced to move him and that would wake him up. Sly bastard. The thought brought a small smile to his face. 

No matter how angry the other man had made him earlier, he couldn't help but allow fondness to wash over him. Whenever he would find Klaus sleeping like this, his heart would jump in his chest. He slept better with him by his side and he knew Klaus did too. He knew that Number Four was still plagued by nightmares every night but he didn't jolt awake ever since they started sharing a bedroom a couple of days ago. He liked knowing that his presence in the same bed had this effect on Klaus and on the demons in his head. It gave him a bit of a confidence boost, to be perfectly honest. With a sigh and a small glimpse at the camera, he stripped out of his jeans and shirt and got into bed just in his boxers. Good thing that the Hargreeves children were used to being filmed.

After sitting down on the edge of the bed he really didn't have a choice if he wanted to catch some Zs - he had to wake the baby. Gingerly he tried lying down on what little space was left on his side of the bed before he actually nudged Klaus’ shoulder. It didn't take much to wake him up. Klaus had always been a light sleeper. He grunted quietly and tried swatting at Diego but failing miserably.

“Dee?” He murmured quietly.

“No it’s Santa and you have been a naughty boy. Ho, ho, ho.” He muttered with a grunt and another nudge. “Move over.” 

Finally, there was movement in the bed as Klaus moved out of his way to make room for Diego. Only when he settled down on the soft mattress he realized that they were now alone in the dark, their little fight still hanging in the air between them. Suddenly, he felt very awkward and didn't really know how to behave or move. Klaus was right next to him, after all. He could hear him breathe, could feel his breath ghost over his neck, could feel every little bit of movement. 

“Your feet are cold. How are they always cold?” He muttered quietly. He almost waited and hoped that Klaus would shove his icy feet between his legs to tease and annoy him like he usually would. He didn't, though. He remained silent next to Diego and that was even more unsettling to him.

“Klaus?” 

“I’m sorry.”

“What?” He muttered as he slowly sat up and switched on the light. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m sorry about the picnic earlier. I shouldn't have … gone so far.” He thought that he needed to say something to Klaus. He could feel that something was about to happen and he already had a bad feeling about that. “I mean … I know that it's a bit much as it is already, right? I realize that it's not as simple for you as it is for me. Not that it's easy for me to kiss my brother but … at least I like guys and you are eye-candy, which makes it easier. What I’m meaning to say is that I have gotten carried away a little and overstepped some boundaries. I get it, okay?”

“Klaus-”

“I just got carried away in that fantasy that someone would actually care for me like this, you know? I mean … even if we wouldn't be … ‘siblings’ or something, someone like you would never fall in love with someone like me!”

“Klaus-”

“Look at me! Look at the fucked up shit I’ve done! Even Karen knows about that and doesn't get why someone as gorgeous and kind and sweet as you would ever fall for someone as broken and damaged as me!”

He took him by the shoulders out of instinct to force Klaus to stop in his little tirade. Again, his heart was beating out of his chest as he did. For once, he had no control over the things coming out of his mouth, and, for once, he didn't care. “I loved you since we were fifteen years old, Klaus!”

His words served to stun the other Hargreeves boy into complete silence. Klaus just stared at him gaping like a goldfish and Diego wanted nothing more than jump up and run out of the room - or, preferably, jump out of the window to end his suffering. He could feel his lips moving as if they were desperately trying to find words before his brain could even come up with them.

“I-I-I m-m-mean … I … I…”

“You … what?”

“I … I … I don't know what to say.”

“You said…” Klaus stopped himself again, looking at him as if he was actually searching for something in Diego’s eyes. “You loved me?” Suddenly, his voice sounded so tiny and soft that it almost broke Diego’s heart because he couldn't help but hear his words all over again in his ears. _Someone as gorgeous and kind and sweet as you would ever fall for someone as broken and damaged as me_. He had always known that Klaus had little self-worth for himself, had always known that he was his own worst enemy, but the way Klaus looked at him now as if he had hung the moon and the stars in the sky, brought him to his knees.

“Yeah…” Diego finally sighed. “I-I … did. I do. That's why … I hate this fake relationship so much. I love you more than I could put into words and to know that it's all just a fucking show for you, just a game for the cameras … I can't _stand_ it.” By now he had all but forgotten about the camera in the room. He could still destroy it. “I should … go. I can still sleep in my old room. I mean you probably don't wanna spend the night next to me now that … that the cat is out of the fucking bag.”

Klaus grabbed his hand before he could even move a muscle. “Why did you never say anything?” Klaus asked even quieter than before.

“Well, what was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, listen, lil' bro, I think I’m in love with you’? Are you crazy?”

“Jury is still out on that one,” Klaus murmured but his voice was lacking humor. He seemed solemn, serious, and even a bit sad all of a sudden. “You should have said something.”

“Why? What would it have changed?”

“Everything!” Klaus shot back right away. “Everything! I wouldn't have jumped out the window at fifteen to get my virginity taken in some dirty motel room without even knowing what was being done to me! I wouldn't have … I wouldn't…”

“Klaus-”

“I loved you, you idiot! I still fucking love you!”

Now he was the one gaping like a goldfish. Had he just heard Klaus actually confess his love to him? And if he had then why did it have to be so awkward? As a fresh-faced teen, back when he had finally come to terms with his feelings for Klaus, he had imagined it very differently. He had imagined it to be all romantic when he would confess his feelings for the other boy - and now it was like this, them, being thirty-year-old men, sitting in a bed that was not even theirs, having a camera pointed at them and half of the world thinking that they were a couple while they couldn't even talk about their feelings. This whole thing was awkward and utterly ridiculous.

He started laughing without realizing it and after he started he couldn't stop it. Luckily for him, Klaus actually joined in and fell back on the bed instead of clogging him over the head with the lamp on his bedside table. 

“Yeah, sure!” Klaus then wheezed. “Sure, it would happen like that! Yeah, I mean - why be all romantic and cute if you can be a loser about it, right? Suits us well, being losers.”

“I agree” Diego huffed and slumped down beside him. “As long as we are losers together, I can live with that, though.”

“Dee-”

“No, I mean it- I mean … we already wasted so much time…”

“Do you really think you want that? Being with a useless drug-addict ex-whore?”

“I want to be with _you_ \- always wanted to be with you.” Again, Klaus had this look on his face that almost broke his heart - as if he couldn't believe that anyone could ever feel something like this for him, as if it had never struck him that he was worthy of love. Because it hadn't. It didn't take much to realize that. And realizing that made him love Klaus only more. 

This idiot couldn't even see what Diego was seeing when he looked at him. He once again moved without thinking as he leaned over him and stole a kiss from those soft lips he only got to taste earlier this day. And this time it wasn’t for the camera in the room or for any fucking voyeurs involved. As he gently nipped at Klaus’ lips, he felt unsure and nervous, and like his heart was going to explode but then Klaus pulled him in closer, his bottle-green eyes slipping closed and that was it. For once after returning to the house for the funeral, he felt like actually coming home.

**-End of Chapter 3-**


	4. Chapter 4

Two months after that dreadful fucking documentary aired, Paul had the audacity to return to the house and sit them all down in the living room again like they were his kids. The moment Diego slumped down on the sofa, Klaus was beside him, slipping into the position that they had grown so accustomed to by now with Diego’s arm curling around his shoulders easily and without much convincing from his brain. 

Having Klaus’ weight rest against him, his head on his shoulder was familiar and comfortable and he wouldn't want to miss it for anything in the world. It was weird how easily they had settled into this new thing between them after that horrible couple of days of the documentary. The moment it had all been out in the open it was as if a curse had been lifted. Suddenly, it had seemed completely normal to have Klaus in his arms during a nap on a sunny Sunday afternoon or having him pepper kisses along his jaw - or sleeping together, Klaus’ body tight around him, moving in perfect unison with his own as if it had always been meant to be this way.

Not that they wouldn't fight every now and then. Their fights were different now, though.

“So, you might be wondering what this is all about,” Paul said and Five cut him off right away.

“We are not doing another documentary.”

“No, none of that.” Paul shrugged. “The people got what they wanted and now - well, to make it short, we need you guys” - He pointed at Klaus and Diego - “to break up.”

“What?” Allison exclaimed, more offended than the two of them could ever be. “Are you crazy? It took them 15 years to get together!”

“Yeah, listen, I don't care about what you actually do, right? But you need to break up publically and make it all dramatic and then, within a couple of months, you get back together. I’m thinking of a hot-air balloon ride, I’m thinking of huge bouquets of flowers! Big romantic gestures! Maybe an engagement? The people want _drama_ , boys!”

Diego was silent as Klaus suddenly sat up straight again. He watched how his boyfriend slowly leaned forward with a smile that seemed to get Paul’s hopes up before he said: “If you don't get out of this house within the next ten seconds, I am going to stab you.”

And wasn’t that just the hottest thing he had ever heard anyone say?

**-End-**


End file.
